NEW Emotiva 13.2 PrePro

[Danzilla31]

Bottom line is I like the price but it's going to need independent testing and user reviews in the wild before a lot of us here will feel comfortable taking a chance on it. But the price if it does indeed work? Yeah it'll be a no brainer if Emo can pull it off

 

[ryanosaur]

How long since the RMC-1 was released… and Emo JUST finally released the first of the promised add-on modules? And you might have the hope they get a new release right?
*blinks repeatedly


We all have better chance, I’m afraid, of freebasing a unicorn fart and tripping balls (or ovs) for a week, meeting a supreme being, and hallucinating the perfect AVR/AVP before reluctantly regaining sensible sobriety and acceptable realism…
Only to realize that this is apparently nothing us mere mortals get to have for less than the ticket of a Trinnov.

¿Que?

 

[MalVeauX]

Last year I was looking for an Atmos capable processor without having to buy a big bulk AVR with amp section and stuff I don't want or need and most of that stuff is outrageously expensive. Looks to me like at $1k new, this fills that market niche quite nicely. Sure one can argue just get an AVR to do this and ignore that it's an AVR. But there's plenty of people who simply don't want an AVR and want a dedicated processor head without anything else. Price is right. This is great. Even if it doesn't take off, its good to have competition in this area.

Had this thing been released last year, I may have bought it immediately (or pre-ordered at least). It checks all the boxes for a dedicated atmos processor at $1k with loads of channels. Fantastic. But most of my content is legacy 5.1 so I really don't have a big reason to go atmos. So I waited and instead put more effort into my 2 channel setup for the time being. I'm glad I waited. Then again I still may not go atmos at all in the future, despite the interest, since almost all my content is 5.1 from a DVD or 2 channel from a CD/FLAC. I don't stream anything atmos or multi-channel (rural Florida) and I'm not replacing over 2k videos with updated re-mastered bluray versions any time soon. In fact, I may just down grade (or upgrade?) to a high quality 2 channel and call it a lifetime. Dunno.

Either way I look forward to some real world users of this new BasX processor and will be watching with interest!

Very best,

 

[lovinthehd]

I don't consider Emotiva for anything these days, especially for a pre-pro after all the problems I've read about. Their attitude towards product support on discontinued items is bad, too. I'd just use a Denon 3700.

 

[Bonscott]

I don't consider Emotiva for anything these days, especially for a pre-pro after all the problems I've read about. Their attitude towards product support on discontinued items is bad, too. I'd just use a Denon 3700.

According to Emotiva. They will repair. Out of warranty products. They will quote the cost before you ship it in to see if it’s worth the cost to fix it.

 

[lovinthehd]

According to Emotiva. They will repair. Out of warranty products. They will quote the cost before you ship it in to see if it’s worth the cost to fix it.

Maybe. They can't repair everything it seems, tho. Even amps....

 

[gene]

Once you get into the high tier Pre/pros, I am not entirely sure what you're getting? I heard a crazy setup with Classe pre and amps and while it sounded amazing, though I attributed much of that to the $25k/pr. speakers mainly, I didn't think to myself "I need to sell a kidney to have this".

Much more sophisticated bass management, more discrete channels, better calibration options, etc... I've been through the spectrum of both so I speak from experience. However, if you're just running a basic system (7.2.4) with conventional bass management, an AVR with separate amps is sufficient in most cases.

 

[slipperybidness]

I don't consider Emotiva for anything these days, especially for a pre-pro after all the problems I've read about. Their attitude towards product support on discontinued items is bad, too. I'd just use a Denon 3700.

I'm fairly well in agreement, and it really is a shame too!

I have a USP-1, which is a great pre! I bought it b/c I was tired of waiting for their flagship pre, but then decided the USP-1 was fine for my needs. And, I have an XDA-1 DAC, and a set of their slim line bookshelf speakers that were discontinued. Those speakers are in use on a desktop setup, really chosen only due to the limited space constraints, but they actually sound quite nice. Surprisingly nice even, considering the small size and the price I paid. My only complaint on those is that I wish the magnetic grills were attached just a little more aggressively, but that only matters when moving them around.

I also personally really like the understated / stealth aesthetics of the Emo gear.

 

[Movie2099]

This is what many members have been saying for years.

Especially since AVRs measure as well as or better than Pre-pros that cost $20K.

1kHz THD+N:
Trinnov MK2 = 0.002%
Denon x3700 = 0.001%
Denon x8500 = 0.0007%
DataSat LS10 = 0.0007%

Rule of thumb: stick to big company AVP/AVR that have less bugs. Also try to buy older generation models if possible to avoid early bugs.

Do you mean StormAudio MK2? Or Trinnov Altitude 16?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Do you mean StormAudio MK2? Or Trinnov Altitude 16?

Well, both the Storm and Trinnov rank below the X3700.

 

[Benni777]

Well, both the Storm and Trinnov rank below the X3700.

Why is the HTP-1 in there twice with different values?

 

[Benni777]

Why is the HTP-1 in there twice with different values?

Now that I look at it there are a few doubles in there with different values? why is that? is that due to DB vs Voltage?

 

[Movie2099]

Well, both the Storm and Trinnov rank below the X3700.

I suppose we could look at this different. Minus the one stat. What's the quality (materials wise) used on the X3700 vs StormAudio, Trinnov, etc... What's the warranty like for those Denons vs higher end manufacturers? which one will you have to keep purchasing a new machine to stay updated? Which ones give you unlimited options to tweak speaker and bass options? who has the top customer service?

I'm sure there are more, but I'll just put those for now. Others can chime in if they want. Is the high price justified? To me, sure. I'm willing to spend more to have a higher quality machine, better warranty, 10x more features and ultimate customer service. But that's just me.

 

[j_garcia]

Much more sophisticated bass management, more discrete channels, better calibration options, etc... I've been through the spectrum of both so I speak from experience. However, if you're just running a basic system (7.2.4) with conventional bass management, an AVR with separate amps is sufficient in most cases.

Thanks Gene. But does the jump from ~$4K to ~$15-20K bear that out? Are the improvements worth that much?

 

[Bonscott]

Thanks Gene. But does the jump from ~$4K to ~$20K bear that out? Are the improvements worth that much?

That would depend on who you ask. For some the answer is Yes. No different then shelling out money for a new car.

 

[slipperybidness]

I suppose we could look at this different. Minus the one stat. What's the quality (materials wise) used on the X3700 vs StormAudio, Trinnov, etc... What's the warranty like for those Denons vs higher end manufacturers? which one will you have to keep purchasing a new machine to stay updated? Which ones give you unlimited options to tweak speaker and bass options? who has the top customer service?

I'm sure there are more, but I'll just put those for now. Others can chime in if they want. Is the high price justified? To me, sure. I'm willing to spend more to have a higher quality machine, better warranty, 10x more features and ultimate customer service. But that's just me.

The reality is that all you "need" is the device that meets all of your requirements for the least $. If you spend $ beyond that, those funds are wasted and could have served you better in other areas.

And, I'm speaking in general terms here, this does not apply to AV gear only.

 

[Movie2099]

The reality is that all you "need" is the device that meets all of your requirements for the least $. If you spend $ beyond that, those funds are wasted and could have served you better in other areas.

And, I'm speaking in general terms here, this does not apply to AV gear only.

I mean if a person purchased all cheap arse klipsch speakers and dropped $2k for the whole setup and then dropped $25k on a processor, I might look at that as a bit odd.

For me personally, me spending $25k on a processor will compliment my $25-$30k+ in speakers I will be purchasing. I'm looking forward to building my next theater and going all out. Buy once, cry once. Haha

 

[ryanosaur]

I mean if a person purchased all cheap arse klipsch speakers and dropped $2k for the whole setup and then dropped $25k on a processor, I might look at that as a bit odd.

This.

For me personally, me spending $25k on a processor will compliment my $25-$30k+ in speakers I will be purchasing.

I think the correct ratio for a $25K AVP would be around $75K for the mains. Perhaps $75K each?
But how much in amplification?

Buy once, cry once for the next 10-15 yrs. Haha

Fixed that for you.

 

[MalVeauX]

So does Denon fix the 3700H when something goes wrong both in and out of warranty? How does that go? Do I ship the unit over-seas? Any actual experience with this? Just asking since this is a big "contention" point with Emotiva.

Very best,

 

[ryanosaur]

So does Denon fix the 3700H when something goes wrong both in and out of warranty? How does that go? Do I ship the unit over-seas? Any actual experience with this? Just asking since this is a big "contention" point with Emotiva.

Very best,

I suspect the issue is that parts for Denons will be much more readily available and even an out-of-warranty repair will be possible.
Emo is a very small company and parts for their gear will not be available once they themselves run out of their stock.
Towards that latter, this is the reason why it is a risky proposition. If in 3 or 5 yrs, they pull the plug on a design and no longer have parts to support a repair, you are finished. This is what happened to @gene and his Amps, IIRC.